World Cup 2010: Philip Lahm criticises English attitude

Lahm is hugged by goal-scorer Lukas Podolski after their 4-1 win on Sunday

Germany captain Philip Lahm has accused England of failing to prepare properly for their last-16 tie.

Germany's 4-1 win was England's heaviest defeat at a World Cup and secured Lahm's side a quarter-final tie with Argentina on Saturday.

"Maybe England were not prepared for this game as they should be," said the 26-year-old Bayern Munich defender.

"Maybe they underestimated us because our players are not as famous as the England players."

German manager Joachim Loew pinpointed his team's ability to hit England on the counter-attack as the reason for their victory.

England's static defence were twice caught on the break in the second-half as two Thomas Mueller goals sealed Germany's quarter-final place.

"We knew we could hit England on the counter-attack because they were open," said a jubilant Loew.

"I am very proud that they coped with the pressure and kept it on England."

We have taken England apart. We were simply better in every aspect Franz Beckenbauer

He added: "We are a very young team and I think it was a deserved win. The conviction of the team was very obvious on the pitch."

Loew explained that he had intended to make the most of England's frailties at the back, particularly by forcing defender John Terry out of position.

"Today we were dominant," Loew said. "We were successful in luring Terry out of defence with (Thomas) Mueller and (Lukas) Podolski penetrating the wide defence.

"We knew that the midfielders (Steven) Gerrard and (Frank) Lampard always support the forwards, and that their midfield would be open," Loew continued.

"So our objective was to set Terry up with Klose to force him to come out of the defence. We knew that the full-backs would be very much to the sides and create spaces between the England defenders that would help us penetrate their defence.

"We wanted to do this and we were successful there."

But Loew also admitted that Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda and his assistant Mauricio Espinosa had made a mistake in failing to award England a goal for Frank Lampard's lobbed effort over goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, which would have made the score 2-2.

"What I saw in the television this ball was behind the line, it must have been given as goal," he said.

And Mueller, who scored a brace in the second-round match, said the decision proved a pivotal moment in the tie.

606: DEBATE I have really enjoyed watching Germany play this tournament. The passing and movement is excellent, the team has a great spirit and I love the adventurous attacking style OutToFletcher

"Of course, we had some luck with Lampard's effort," he reflected. "We knew we had to seize the opportunity with both hands. We got the stroke of luck and we knew we couldn't give it away.

"This is the compensatory justice for Wembley [in the 1966 World Cup final]," he said.

Germany ensured that any controversy was academic, when the pace of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mesut Ozil carved England's defence to shreds to set Mueller up for his two goals in the second half.

"I said to my team at the half-time break, we need to try and score the third goal," added Loew. "Our players carried it off brilliantly."

Former Germany captain and coach Franz Beckenbauer agreed with Loew's assessment.

"England were overwhelmed - they just could not come to terms with our style of play," he said.

"We have taken England apart. We were simply better in every aspect."